ZERO DARK THIRTY TRAVEL

  Well, let me tell you there’s some life left in this old girl after all. Much to my chagrin and unhappiness, my orthopedic MD appointment had to be rescheduled. Unless I wanted to wait until the end of January, then the only available slot was Friday morning at 8:00 am…yes, that’s correct, 8:00 am. To add insult to injury, the doctor’s office is on Capitol Hill.

This change meant I had to arise at zero dark thirty and get behind the wheel of my very own car and drive myself there. Not really a problem except it was DARK, PITCH DARK. First, I’m not usually cognizant of the day or time before the sun rises, and second, I can’t remember the last time I left the house in the dark…by myself…behind the wheel of my own car. 

Seriously, I expected horrible traffic and to be exceedingly uncomfortable navigating myself on the freeway in the dark. But you know what? I wasn’t uncomfortable driving 60 mph, and even just a teensy bit more, on the freeway, plus the freeway moved along as thought it were still the middle of the night…and, okay, it felt like the middle of the night to moi.

Traffic moved so smoothly and swiftly I arrived with more than enough time to spare which meant I could pop unto my favorite bakery before I met with the doctor. The doctor visit wasn’t fun because he made my wrist/hand hurt A LOT, but the thought of that tasty croissant waiting in the car kept the tears at bay. 

Back in the car, my treat was sublime even without a latte accompaniment. I’ll probably get another chance to visit the bakery because the x-rays and CT-scan weren’t definitive enough for the doctor…he wants an MRI. So, I expect I’ll have to travel to Capitol Hill two more times (MRI and MD visit), but I’m going to do my very best to make those appointments during the day…enough with this middle of the night traveling. 

TIME PASSES SO QUICKLY

 

Well, here we are at the end of another year. In less than twelve hours, it will become 2025, and I’m not ready. Why, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

Decades ago when the year 2025 was brought up, it was light years (however many those are) away from the time in which I was living. In fact, I actually didn’t believe I’d be alive when that year, or maybe even any of the 2000s came around. It all seemed so far away and so Twilight Zoneish. Somehow, I couldn’t imagine all that time passing or becoming as old as I’d need to be when 2025 arrived.

Well, silly moi. I guess I just didn’t have the imagination required to think that far ahead. And, I don’t know about you, but I never believed I’d live to be this old or become this old. And, yes, I know it’s a good thing to be this old, to have lived this long since it is certainly better than the only known alternative. Still, it somehow seems to have arrived all too soon and all too quickly.

It’s times like this I wish I could have one more conversation with my grandmother or any one of her peers or maybe even her grandmother. Her life changed so much during her time on earth. From an outhouse to indoor plumbing, from horse and buggy to automobiles, from growing and preserving her own food to getting it at the grocery store, from traveling on a train for days to flying from one state to another in a matter of hours. I’d really like to talk with her about all the changes she saw and experienced. I regret I wasn’t aware enough during her lifetime to have this discussion.

This, of course, leads me to think about my own life and experiences. I remember as a child, time moved extremely slow and now, it moves at an amazing pace. So far, my grandchildren haven’t asked me about my own childhood and the changes I’ve experienced during my life. I wonder if it just hasn’t occurred to them that what they’re living right now is nothing like what I lived at their ages. I also wonder if they simply don’t have time to think about time because life’s rhythms are moving at the fastest tempo ever. 

If there was one new year’s wish I’d make, it would be for time to slow down, to allow me perform a slow waltz as opposed to the quickstep required by today’s schedules. But we all know that if “wishes were horses, beggars would ride,” so a slower pace in 2025 isn’t likely. 

And, I guess the whole point of my looking at time, past, present and future, is to remind myself to enjoy every single millisecond as much as possible. 

So, here’s to a Happy New Year and 2025…may it bring me and all those I love and cherish a bright and enjoyable future that doesn’t pass us by too quickly. 

ANOTHER SCARY RIDE

  On December 20th, I wrote about traveling down the freeway at zero dark thirty and how scary I expected it to be. The day after that, I had another travel adventure was actually even more scary, but I’m happy to report I made it home without a problem.

It was the Northwest Driftwood Artists’ Christmas Party, so, of course, I had to attend…I am the newsletter editor after all. Getting there (Redmond) wasn’t a problem although it was raining just a bit. That all changed during the two-hour party.

When I came out, it was POURING. By the time I got on to the freeway heading north, visibility was almost nonexistent. Did anyone actually slow down? Absolutely not…the speed limit was 60 mph, so why on earth wouldn’t drivers actually do that speed.

I kept myself in the right-hand lane and thank heavens, there were other drivers who were as cautious as me. I didn’t do 60, and neither did the cars in front of me. Our top speed was about 45, maybe 50, and even then, the idiots who chose to not turn on their car lights were almost impossible to see.

It was raining so hard for the entire drive on the freeway, I thought it couldn’t possible rain any harder. Off the freeway and driving toward home on the Bothell-Everett Highway, Mother Nature chose to prove me wrong. What had been very little visibility became zero visibility and I seriously thought about pulling over and stopping. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see well enough to make that choice so I just cautiously continued.

By the time I made it home and into my garage, I was exhausted and the rain had diminished somewhat. I had lunch and decided to take a nap. When I got up, the sun was shining. I found myself wondering if I had simply dreamed that death defying drive home from my Christmas party. 

Now I’m wondering if it was a good idea we had no alcohol??? Probably, but I’m also wondering if I’d have been far less frightened while driving?

CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER

  

        It’s been quite some time, five years actually, since I sat
down to write a Holiday Newsletter or send many Christmas cards. Perhaps some of you have breathed a sigh of relief while others might have missed my lovely prose. I decided to give it a try this year, five years after John passed away, to share some of what’s happened in my life since then.

To say life has been extremely lonely since John crossed the Rainbow Bridge would be a massive understatement. And, okay, that bridge is supposedly for pets, but I like to think of John on the other side with all the animals we shared over the years. With more than one day shy of fifty-three years together, his absence left a huge hole that, while I’ve become accustomed to it, hasn’t diminished one little bit. 

Just after my first trip away, which was to the Caribbean, ended the pandemic began which made my life more insular and a bit scary although I haven’t yet succumbed to that virus. Just this past year, I traveled to Costa Rica with my best friend and our doggies and to Tennessee with my son, granddaughter and her boyfriend to visit family and enjoy all Nashville had to offer. Maybe 2025 will see me jetting off to other places. 

         So, what else have I been up to in the last five years. I continue to garden and have no plans to leave the family home. I’ve been here for fifty-five years now and am hoping and praying the coroner pulls into the driveway before I have to vacate. My son, AJ, and his daughter, Haley, do a lot to help me whenever I have a need and I’m most appreciative. Other needs are met by the hiring of companies or individuals.

Before John died, I had joined the Shoreline-Lake Forest Park Senior Center and was participating in the Enhanced Fitness classes. I continue to do this three days a week. I also decided I wanted to learn about Driftwood Sculpture so signed up for a class. I now go once a week to join fellow sculpturers. Not only that, I’m now the Northwest Driftwood Artists’ newsletter editor. I love my classmates and this organization and thoroughly enjoy seeing ugly driftwood become beautiful creations…both my own and my fellow artists as well. In 2024, I was awarded second and third place for the two sculptures I entered in the organization’s contest. The NWDA show will be on May 10, 2025, at the Brightwater Center in Woodinville. Put it on your calendar and go see some great artistic driftwood works.

I also continue to enjoy the company of friends from Woodland Park Zoo, including that of my previous bosses. It’s great fun and a source of pride when we get together and talk about the “golden” years of the zoo when we were “in charge.” I have also maintained my friendships with other individuals who were part of my life before widowhood. Unfortunately, many folks who I thought were my friends as well as John’s are no longer in touch. 

When John died. We had two dogs, Karma and her son, Kaizer. It was a couple of years before Kaizer died and his mother joined him six months later. Well, John had always been the one to want a dog, so I gave away all the dog paraphernalia with the idea I wouldn’t have any more pets. Six months later, I was so depressed I could barely stand myself. My doctor didn’t prescribe a pet adoption, but she did say, “It will certainly give you a reason to get up in the mornings.” A week or so later, I saw Kuma, an Australian Shepherd, on Facebook and knew he was the one. I purchased him, brought him home and he’s been my joy, solace, entertainment, and fun for about two-and-a-half years. His name is Aboriginal for “Rascal,” and while he’s not a total rascal, he’s certainly brought a lot of happiness, comfort and love into my life. There are times when I barely wake and think it’s John snuggled against my back when it's actually Kuma…still a great comfort. Kuma is the biggest change in my life since John departed.

AJ is less than two years away from retiring from the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation. I’m not exactly sure what the Department will do once he’s no longer available to take care of major HVAC problems. I’m also not sure what he’ll do in retirement since he has no major hobbies…maybe I can get him to take up Driftwood Sculpture???

Angie continues to work for Edmonds School District and is the Office Manager for her elementary school. While she is still a Partylite candle representative and you can order candles and other products from her, she no longer does parties in other people’s homes. She, too, has always been available and more than willing to assist me with any needs I may have and for which I’m extremely grateful. 

Haley graduated from the Everett Community College’s welding program as well as the WyoTech Diesel program. The result was she is now a welder for a company in South Park. She loves her job and the men with whom she works. She also works at Roscoe’s Ranch, a dog boarding facility, a few evenings a week closing up. Since it would be silly for her to actually take a day off, she spends Saturday’s cleaning stalls at the horse farm at which she takes riding lessons. I am extremely grateful for her, however, because if Nana needs help, she always comes through. 

Haley also has a very good friend, Tyler, whom she met in Wyoming. Thankfully, he lives in Renton instead of Wyoming. They seem to be a great couple and I’ve enjoyed getting to know Tyler as well as watching the two of them together. Only Haley’s second serious relationship, it’s clear she made good choices in both instances.

Thor continues to work for ProSweep and his wife, Amber, manages a marijuana dispensary. Their daughter Arayli is now sixteen, is being educated online and may graduate early because she really wants to begin training as a hair dresser/manicurist. She’s a gorgeous young woman who will get her driver’s license the beginning of 2025. I’m looking forward to having her do my nails and/or hair at some point.

         Thor’s and Amber’s son, Xander is ten years old, and, I swear, has his phone permanently affixed to his right hand. He expressed an interest in driftwood sculpture, and found it fun to look for driftwood and to scrape the nasty off.  The sanding part isn’t much fun because it takes FOREVER. He also was very interested in learning to sew, but Nana fell down on the job and bought a pattern that was far too small and difficult. Maybe this winter, Xander and Nana can work on further developing his sewing skills. He’s played soccer the last couple of years and it’s been a joy to watch him on the field. 

As far as my own health goes, this past year has been hard. Out of absolutely nowhere, I began experiencing chest discomfort in May. I had no idea what it was until a two-day visit to urgent care, when I was diagnosed with stable angina. A month later, the stable angina was no longer stable, and I apparently suffered a mild heart attack, with the end result being the installation of six stents in my heart. Talk about a shock…it still seems surreal four months later. Still, I feel just fine, no longer suffer from angina and am able to do pretty much whatever I feel like doing without any problems. Good for another twenty years or 200,000 miles?

I’ve also been writing off and on. I wrote three complete romance novels during covid, one of which actually had a publisher interested. Alas, it came to naught. I do post my essays and book chapters to my blog, “My Widow’s Mite.” I’ve been blogging for years about all kinds of stuff; and in case you’re interested, you can find my postings at https//paulaswidowmite.blogspot.com. Of course, there hasn’t been a publisher or a huge interest in what I think and/or write about. Still, I enjoy putting fingers to the keyboard.

How’s that for summarizing five years in a little more than three pages? 

        It is my fondest hope you and your families have an absolutely wonderful Christmas and a New Year that brings you the happiest of times.

TOO MUCH INFO...SIMPLY WAY TOO MUCH

        It’s amazing how much information there is out there and even more amazing how many ways in which you are able to obtain. I began my information gathering with one link to CNN which produces CNN’s 5 Things. I like this link and the brief information it makes available about news around the world…not too much and not too little. 

I began receiving that informative email a long time ago. It’s now been joined by at least two additional (and maybe more) CNN updates. If that isn’t enough, there’s The Daily Skimm which also sends more than one email per day. I’ve also managed to sign up for at least another two, maybe more emails a day that provide a wide variety of information from weird stories through the years to how I can be the best person possible when it comes to utilizing and working for Mother Nature’s best life.

This morning, I came to the realization that I’m receiving way too many informative emails. Should I choose to read every single one, I’d probably spend most of my day at my computer or on my I-pad just so I can acquire this (usually useless) information and delete these emails from my feed.

And, don’t get me started about the emails I receive about all the new books that are available, seemingly on an hourly basis. And, let’s not forget the emails from all the genealogical sites who want to connect me to another thirty-two family members of whom I’ve never heard. 

Somehow, it definitely seems to me that my email feed has reached an unmanageable size and it’s time to cut it back. It’s going to take nerves of steel to hit the delete button on what now has to be thousands of emails I have not opened or read. I find myself thinking there might just be a diamond among those billions of words I’m sending into the ether…how can I just delete without knowing.

But, that knowledge is simply going to have to be lost, at least to me. I simply don’t have the time to devote to accruing all that information, nor does my brain have enough cells left to acquire and save. I think what I’ll do besides delete all these emails and block future ones is to simply Google or Search for a particular item in which I’m interested when my interest is aroused…should save a lot more time for blogging that way.